A growing service provided by retailers is the ability for a customer to perform financial transactions not specifically related to a purchase transaction. The financial services are provided as a convenience to the customer and the retailers typically charge fees for the services. Financial services that involve money transfers are controlled by government statutes and regulations that place restrictions on the transfers and impose severe civil and criminal penalties on violators, including the party that allows the transaction. As such, retailers typically require that a cashier trained in financial services review and approve certain financial services before the financial service can be completed.
Retailers provide a dedicated customer terminal that customers use to start a financial transaction associated with a financial service. A customer uses the customer terminal to enter basic information needed to process the financial transaction and then is given a printed receipt that includes indicia identifying the customer entered information. The customer may also deposit money into the terminal if it is required as part of the transaction. The customer is then directed to another terminal operated by a cashier. The customer presents their receipt to the cashier and the cashier uses the receipt to access and review the information entered by the customer. If the cashier approves the information, the transaction is completed. If the cashier does not approve the information, the transaction is rejected and money deposited by the customer is refunded. This process requires two different computer terminals, each with a number of expensive peripherals.